NAWS China Lake remains committed to growth and development in 2019

by John D. Bennett For The Daily Independent

Saturday

Mar 2, 2019 at 12:01 AM

There is no arguing that the missions enabled by Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake directly or indirectly contribute to the economic well-being and quality of life of the Indian Wells Valley and the surrounding communities, according to NAWS Commanding Officer Capt. Paul Dale.

“For instance, payroll, industry output, spending, and off-base lodging - which to a degree are expended in the local community - had a roughly $1.2 billion economic impact in 2017,” he said, adding that some $36 million was fed into state and local tax coffers. “Also, activity associated with the installation is responsible for approximately 10,000 jobs either directly or indirectly and either on or off the installation.”

While noting that these numbers represented a look back, they are also helpful in forecasting what to expect in the future.

“Well the outlook from where I sit appears much the same or better than 2017,” said Dale. “So it’s positive.”

Representing one-third of the Navy’s landholdings and larger than the state of Rhode Island at 1.3 million acres, China Lake also benefits from some of the finest and largest contiguous military use airspace in the continental United States.

“Used by the entirety of the Department of Defense for a multitude of missions,” said Dale. “Armitage Airfield resides nearly in the center of that airspace, and adding to this is about 33,000 acres in the Cuddeback area gained from the FY15 and 16 National Defense Authorization Acts, and anticipated for expanded use by Research Development Acquisition Test and Evaluation organizations starting later this year or early next year. I cannot overemphasize that.”

Mission growth at Navy and Marine Corps installations in proximity to China Lake also appear to positioning China Lake for growth. Dale noted that Naval Air Station Lemoore, Naval Air Station Fallon, Naval Base Ventura County and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma are among those already seeing growth.

“These are all occurring around us and just by osmosis, you’re going to get some degree of growth,” he said. “I say this because any number of locations on the installation garner interest for transient Test and Training activity by historically known organizations, such as Weapons Division, but now also by entities who had not in the past demonstrated interest; and interest for temporary use of locations on the installation in my experience eventually drives infrastructure decisions tied to those activities as well as possible permanent footprints which may lead to growth in supporting activities and diversification of mission.”

On that note, Dale said a team both local and elsewhere - primarily Navy Region Southwest and Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest - are continuing to address aged and aging infrastructure aboard China Lake.

“In fact, the team is doing nearly everything within authorities to have a foundation for suitable sites should certain decisions be made,” he said. “For instance, the first round of demolition involving uninhabitable and unusable facilities is ongoing as I speak for the first time in decades - which aside from removing blight - makes way for building new facilities on existing disturbed lands. In some cases, these lands are in prime locations.” Furthermore, runways, taxiways, parking aprons and associated support infrastructure and equipment continues to be modernized. “Taxiway Kilo, which leads to two hangars on the south airfield. is now positioned for the next 70-plus years of use and possible growth to the west,” said Dale. “Parking Apron 2 recently went from three certified strike-fighter sized parking spots to 10 with corresponding efficiency gains to ground operations such as hot refueling of aircraft and a 25-foot asphalt shoulder expanding its use for all types of helicopters. The first of three phases for Parking Apron 1 and a segment of Taxiway Alpha is scheduled to be done this summer with the second and third phases scheduled for completion summer of 2020.”

Asphalt will be replaced with concrete and new lighting will replace old lighting, among other improvements.

The airfield fire station is also about to undergo its first major refurbishment since being built decades ago and the roof on Hangar 1 was refurbished in 2018 with modernized windows to be installed this year. The team also completed the firs of four gate modernizations with the second to occur this fall. Road and parking lot refurbishment is ongoing with two major thoroughfares on the installation slated for work this summer.

“Moreover, concerted activity continues to resolve deficiencies with the guts of the installation that no one usually cares about until not available,” said Dale. “The drum-beat continues in order to modernize fiber connectivity, water and sewer lines, electrical lines and pole gear, as well as 1950 era electrical switch stations and substations.”

He said there is much more to do but it’s a matter of prioritizing what needs to get done with finite resources.

“In August 2018 the U.S. Navy, in partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps, closed on a Restricted Use Easement with State of California Parks involving Onyx Ranch,” said Dale. “The Onyx Ranch RUE put in-place a binding order which inhibits incompatible wind corridor development to the RDAT&E mission for perpetuity in and around a large swath of land northwest of Jawbone Junction. In addition, and as another example, I just returned late last night from Washington D.C. where I joined representatives from Sierra Sands Unified School District in an orientation meeting hosted by the Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment that had as one element grant funding to resolve Richmond Elementary School infrastructure deficiencies. Team China Lake looks forward to continued productive dialogue with SSUSD on the subject of Office of Economic Adjustment Grant funds.”

Dale closed with a brief summary of a letter submitted to the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority Board on behalf of the installation. “I will not repeat the entirety of the letter’s content but will take this opportunity to reiterate one element of the letter, which is, that offices within the United States Navy have deemed groundwater resources as the number one encroachment concern and issue which has the potential to impact missions enabled on and around NAWSCL,” he said.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.